WX51 TXR
New member
Graeme (gruff) from the UK Civic Type R forum contacted me months ago to ask advice about sorting out his swirly and marred Civic, but it’s taken this long to find a mutually convenient slot in the diary (not helped by me having to cancel one appointment at short notice due to falling ill). However, it was well worth the wait, as I really enjoyed this one, and he was delighted with the results! When I first saw the car it didn’t look too bad, but after setting up the halogen lighting the full extent of the defects become apparent. Heavy swirls, heavy marring and numerous scratches were afflicting every panel. The paint also felt very rough, despite having been clayed only a few months ago. Graeme had kindly washed and dried the car the night before, so we started straight away with the clay, and then proceeded with a long spell of machine polishing. After correcting virtually all of the defects (very happy with this one!), I then went on to finish with Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection. This product is really something - I’ve not come across another sealant that looks so wet, whilst still allowing the flake to pop so much in the sun. Here’s the process in full…
Clay
Meguiars Mild Detailing Clay (very gentle, didn’t want to add more marring)
Poorboy’s Spray & Wipe
Excess lubricant mopped up with waffle weave towels
Polish
Whole car taped with 3434, then machine polished with PC, using Menzerna Final Polish II and Lake Country white polishing pads. The first go with the Final Polish II removed all of the clay marring and most of the swirls, but still left some of the scratches visible. Another pass took care of these, leaving a finish that I would say was 99% corrected. What surprised me was just how soft Honda paint is. I had read that it was soft, but full correction with just two goes with Final Polish II?! Damn, no wonder it marrs so easily! All residues were buffed with Poorboy’s Super Thick n Plush towels, and the quality of the finish left by the Final Polish II didn’t require any further glazing step – it was awesome.
Protect
All bodywork protected with Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection, applied using a microfibre pad and buffed using Poorboy's Mega Plush towels. All exterior trims left alone, as they were in perfect order and did not need dressing. Exhaust tips polished with Autosol and protected with Meguiars NXT All Metal Polysh, both applied using Poorboy’s Work Towels. Wheels were in perfect condition (a credit to Graeme), tyres dressed with Blackfire Long Lasting Tyre Gel.
And here’s the pics…
Clay marring and swirls…
Heavy swirls and cobwebbing…
Two goes with Menzerna Final Polish II, and 99% correction is achieved (left side done, right side untouched)…
After 8 hours work, time to take it outside and inspect. As the first flash of sunlight hits the car as the garage door opens…
…the flake literally explodes!
Graeme, the owner, looking rather pleased!
Apologies for including my ugly mug, but I couldn’t resist!
Clay
Meguiars Mild Detailing Clay (very gentle, didn’t want to add more marring)
Poorboy’s Spray & Wipe
Excess lubricant mopped up with waffle weave towels
Polish
Whole car taped with 3434, then machine polished with PC, using Menzerna Final Polish II and Lake Country white polishing pads. The first go with the Final Polish II removed all of the clay marring and most of the swirls, but still left some of the scratches visible. Another pass took care of these, leaving a finish that I would say was 99% corrected. What surprised me was just how soft Honda paint is. I had read that it was soft, but full correction with just two goes with Final Polish II?! Damn, no wonder it marrs so easily! All residues were buffed with Poorboy’s Super Thick n Plush towels, and the quality of the finish left by the Final Polish II didn’t require any further glazing step – it was awesome.
Protect
All bodywork protected with Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection, applied using a microfibre pad and buffed using Poorboy's Mega Plush towels. All exterior trims left alone, as they were in perfect order and did not need dressing. Exhaust tips polished with Autosol and protected with Meguiars NXT All Metal Polysh, both applied using Poorboy’s Work Towels. Wheels were in perfect condition (a credit to Graeme), tyres dressed with Blackfire Long Lasting Tyre Gel.
And here’s the pics…
Clay marring and swirls…
Heavy swirls and cobwebbing…
Two goes with Menzerna Final Polish II, and 99% correction is achieved (left side done, right side untouched)…
After 8 hours work, time to take it outside and inspect. As the first flash of sunlight hits the car as the garage door opens…
…the flake literally explodes!
Graeme, the owner, looking rather pleased!
Apologies for including my ugly mug, but I couldn’t resist!
